CN107222889A - Method and apparatus for providing intelligent network connection management - Google Patents

Abstract

A mobile device is provided. The mobile device includes a memory configured to store a plurality of applications, a communication circuit including a first communication module and a second communication module, and a processor electrically connected to the communication circuit. The processor is configured to execute an application among the plurality of applications, determine the communication status of the first network and the communication status of the second network in response to executing the application, based on the communication status of the first network, the communication status of the second network, the application to the mobile device The tariff, service policy applied to the application, performance criteria applied to the application, and network selection criteria select one of the first network and the second network, and download data from a server associated with the application using the selected network.

Description

Method and apparatus for providing intelligent network connection management

priority

This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application Serial No. 10-2016-0033669 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on March 21, 2016, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

technical field

The present disclosure relates generally to methods and apparatus, and more particularly, to methods and apparatus for selectively using a network in an electronic device.

Background technique

Mobile devices such as smartphones support cellular networks, such as third generation (3G) or long-term evolution (LTE). In addition, a wireless communication technology such as Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) conforming to a specific data transfer protocol (eg, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11) may be supported by the mobile terminal. In addition, a wireless communication technology such as Bluetooth conforming to IEEE 802.15.1 may be supported by the mobile terminal.

Various wireless communication technologies may provide different data throughputs based on frequency bands, modulation techniques, or other technical characteristics. Data throughput may be limited based on the number of mobile terminals (referred to as "user equipment (UE)") connected to the network or to an access point (AP).

With the development of cellular network technology and the reduction of data usage charges by service providers or mobile network operators (MNOs), there is a tendency for many users to download data using cellular networks that guarantee wider coverage, stable speed, and stable connection status. Therefore, data traffic may be blocked on the cellular network. Data offloading technologies such as Multipath Transmission Control Protocol (MPTCP), Access Network Discovery and Selection Function (ANDSF), Multi-Access PDN Connectivity (MAPCON) and Internet Protocol (IP) Flow Mobility (IFOM) have been developed To address network coverage and capacity. However, the techniques described above may require a proxy server or policy server, thus increasing costs for the service provider or MNO.

Contents of the invention

Aspects of the present disclosure are to address at least the above-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the present disclosure provides a method of facilitating data offloading in a mobile terminal without establishing a separate server and providing enhanced user experience (UX) to a user.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a mobile device is provided. The mobile device includes: a memory configured to store a plurality of applications; a communication circuit including a first communication module and a second communication module, the first communication module is connected to the first network using the first communication protocol and the second communication module uses the second communication module A second communication protocol is connected to the second network; and a processor is electrically connected to the communication circuit. The processor is configured to execute a streaming service application among the plurality of applications, and in response to executing the streaming service application, determine a communication status of the first network and a communication status of the second network based on the communication status of the first network, the communication status of the second network and A tariff applied to the mobile device selects one of the first network and the second network, and downloads content associated with the streaming service application from the streaming server using the selected network.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a mobile device is provided. The mobile device includes: a memory configured to store a plurality of applications; a communication circuit including a first communication module and a second communication module; and a processor electrically connected to the communication circuit. The processor is configured to execute an application among a plurality of applications, and in response to executing the application, determine the communication status of the first network and the communication status of the second network, based on the communication status of the first network, the communication status of the second network, the application A charging schedule of the mobile device, a service policy applied to the application, a performance criterion applied to the application, and a network selection criterion select one of the first network and the second network, and use the selected network from a server associated with the application Download data.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a network connection management method of a mobile device is provided. The method includes: executing a streaming service application, determining a communication status of a first network and a communication status of a second network in response to executing the streaming service application, based on the communication status of the first network, the communication status of the second network, and the communication status applied to the mobile device The tariff selects one of the first network and the second network, and downloads content associated with the streaming service application from the streaming server using the selected network.

Description of drawings

The above and other aspects, features and advantages of certain embodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

1 is a block diagram of a mobile device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

2 is a block diagram illustrating a connectivity manager for smart connection management (CM) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 3 illustrates an enhanced network selection algorithm according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of handing over a connection from a wireless high-fidelity (Wi-Fi) network to a cellular network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of switching a connection from a cellular network to a Wi-Fi network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating intelligent CM processing according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating an initial process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating network CM processing according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates a user interface (UI) for setting a smart CM according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 10 illustrates a UI for selecting a smart CM according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

detailed description

In the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numerals are used to describe the same or similar elements, features, and structures.

Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Various modifications are possible in various embodiments of the present disclosure, and the embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and the related detailed description is described. However, the present disclosure is not limited to a specific embodiment, and it should be understood that the present disclosure includes all modifications and/or equivalents and substitutions within the protective scope and technical scope of the present disclosure.

In the present disclosure, the expressions "has", "may have", "include" and "comprises" or "may include" and "may include" as used herein indicate corresponding features (eg, such as values, functions, operations, etc.) or elements of a component) does not preclude the presence of additional features.

In the present disclosure, the expressions "A or B", "at least one of A or/and B" or "one or more of A or/and B" etc. as used herein may include one or more related Any and all combinations of the listed items in conjunction. For example, the term "A or B", "at least one of A and B" or "at least one of A or B" may refer to all of the following: the case including at least one of A (1), the case of including at least one of B ( 2), or the case (3) including both at least one A and at least one B.

Expressions such as "first", "second", etc. as used in various embodiments of the present disclosure may refer to various elements regardless of the order and/or priority of the corresponding elements, without limiting the corresponding elements. This expression can be used to distinguish one element from another. For example, both 'first user device' and 'second user device' indicate different user devices regardless of the order and/or priority of the corresponding elements. For example, a first component may be referred to as a second component, and vice versa, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

It will be understood that when an element (eg, a first element) is referred to as being "operably or communicatively coupled/coupled to" or "connected to" another element (eg, a second element), it can be identical to the other element. An element is directly coupled/coupled to or connected to another element, or there may be an intervening element (eg, a third element). In contrast, when an element (eg, a first element) is referred to as being "directly coupled to" or "directly connected to" another element (eg, a second element), it should be understood that no intervening An element in between (eg, a third element).

Depending on the context, the expression "configured to" as used herein can be used interchangeably with the expressions "adapted to", "having the property of", "designed for", "suitable for", "so that" or " can be used interchangeably. The term "configured to" does not just mean "specifically designed for" with hardware. Instead, the expression "the device is configured to" may mean that the device is "capable of" operating with another device or other components. For example, "the processor is configured to perform A, B, and C" may mean that the corresponding operations can be performed by executing one or more software programs stored in a dedicated processor (e.g., an embedded processor) for performing the corresponding operations A general-purpose processor (eg, a central processing unit (CPU) or an application processor).

Terms used in this specification are used to describe specific embodiments of the present disclosure and not to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Terms in a singular form may include plural forms unless otherwise specified. Unless otherwise specified herein, all terms used herein including technical or scientific terms may have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art. It will be further understood that terms defined in dictionaries and commonly used terms should also be interpreted according to conventional practice in the art, rather than in an idealized or overly formalized manner, unless expressly so defined herein. In some cases, even if terms are defined terms in the specification, they may not be construed as excluding embodiments of the present disclosure.

Hereinafter, methods and electronic devices according to various embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a mobile device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the mobile device 100 includes a processor 110 , a communication circuit 120 , a memory 130 , a display 140 , a touchpad 150 , an input device 160 and an output device 170 . Some of the above-described components may be omitted from the mobile device 100 or another component may be further included in the mobile device 100 . For example, components such as various sensors, a battery, or an input/output (I/O) interface may be further included in the mobile device 100 .

The processor 110 may correspond to an application processor (AP) of the mobile device 100, for example. In another example, the processor 110 may correspond to a central processing unit (CPU) or a processing core implemented on a system on chip (SoC) of the mobile device 100 . The processor 110 may correspond to a processing circuit for controlling other components electrically connected to the processor 110 for performing functions in the mobile device 100 .

The communication circuit 120 may correspond to a communication processor (CP) of the mobile device 100, for example. In another example, communication circuitry 120 may correspond to a modem and/or connectivity circuitry implemented in the SoC of mobile device 100 .

The communication circuit 120 may include various modules for supporting communication using various networks. For example, the communication circuit 120 includes a cellular module 121 for supporting cellular communications, such as second/third generation (2G/3G), long-term evolution (LTE), LTE-advanced (LTE-A), code division multiple access (CDMA ), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) and Wireless Broadband (WiBro). The communication circuit 120 includes a Wi-Fi module 122 for supporting Internet access via an access point (AP), such as Wi-Fi. The communication circuit 120 includes a Bluetooth module 123 for device-to-device communication.

The communication circuit 120 may further include additional modules. For example, the communication circuit 120 may have modules for Near Field Communication (NFC) communication, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication, Wi-Fi Direct communication, Magnetic Tape Transmission (MST) communication, or Global Positioning System (GPS) communication.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, some communication modules may be implemented independently of the communication circuit 120 . For example, a CP and a Wi-Fi module or a GPS module can be implemented with separate hardware or a separate chip. In FIG. 1 , it should be understood that the communication circuit 120 includes modules for communication in the mobile device 100 . However, a module may not be located in one chip (eg, SoC) or one block corresponding to the communication circuit 120 .

The communication circuit 120 may be connected to an antenna 129 . Each communication module (eg, the cellular module 121, the Wi-Fi module 122, etc.) may be connected with a radiator having an electrical length for transmitting/receiving a signal of a frequency band used by each communication module. Accordingly, antenna 129 may include one or more radiators. Antenna 129 may include front-end modules (FEMs), filters, amplifiers, etc. associated with signal processing.

The communication circuit 120 may also include modules for wired communication.

Memory 130 may include volatile and/or non-volatile memory. The memory 130 may store commands or data associated with components of the mobile device 100 . The memory 130 may store software and/or programs. Programs may include, for example, kernel programs, middleware, application programming interfaces (APIs), and/or application programs (or "applications"), among others. At least a part of the kernel program, middleware, or API may be called an operating system (OS). The memory 130 may store data (eg, streaming application list, etc.) associated with embodiments of the present disclosure.

The display 140 may display screens of applications. The display 140 may be implemented together with a touchpad 150 (eg, a touch screen panel, etc.). In this case, the user can generate a user input by touching the display 140 . If the display 140 is implemented together with the touchpad 150 , the display 140 performs the functions of the input device 160 and the output device 170 together.

The touchpad 150 may be implemented as a touch key, a touch button, etc. at a front surface, a side surface, or a rear surface of the mobile device 100 . For example, various function keys such as a home key and a return key located at the front surface of the mobile device 100 may be implemented on the touchpad 150 . A touch panel can be used to implement a touch screen, and the touch panel used to implement function keys can have a separate circuit or signal line.

The input device 160 may be implemented by additional physical buttons (eg, volume buttons, power buttons, etc.) in addition to the touch screen or function keys. The input device 160 may be a microphone for obtaining speech input. The output device 170 may be a speaker, a vibrator, or a light emitting diode (LED).

Hereinafter, a description of smart connection management (CM) using the mobile device 100 will be provided with reference to FIGS. 2 to 8 .

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a connectivity manager for intelligent connection management according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

2, the connectivity manager 200 includes an intelligent CM controller 210, an application event controller 220, a radio access technology (RAT) controller 230, a routing table controller 240, a whitelist controller 250, a timer controller 260 and Service Provisioning Controller 270 . The connectivity manager 200 or each of the modules 210 to 270 may be implemented as commands or program codes stored in the memory 130 of FIG. 1 and executed by the processor 110 of FIG. 1 . However, a portion of connectivity manager 200 may be distributed and implemented as code executed by communication circuitry 120 of FIG. 1 . Operations described in the specification as being performed by the connectivity manager 200 may be performed by the processor 110 or the communication circuit 120 . Also, the modules 210 to 270 of the connectivity manager 200 may be classified according to the function performed by each of the modules 210 to 270 . Two or more of the modules 210 to 270 may be integrated into one module, or one of the modules 210 to 270 may be divided into two or more modules.

If the communication circuit 120 downloads data (or content) from the server using two or more communication protocols, the connectivity manager 200 may apply to Charging schedule, user settings, manufacturer settings, communication carrier settings (or mobile network operator (MNO) settings), application settings, performance criteria (e.g., download/upload) imposed on the mobile device 100 of FIG. bandwidth, throughput, etc.), network selection criteria, etc., and adaptively determine the communication protocol to be used for downloading data. In this disclosure, a description will be provided of an embodiment of downloading data via the communication circuit 120 . Here, additionally or alternatively, if data is uploaded, the same processing or processing corresponding to the processing described for downloading may be applied. In this disclosure, details described about downloading may be replaced with details about uploading, and in general may be replaced with details about data or voice communication.

For example, if the communication circuit 120 includes a first communication module for communicating with a first network using a first communication protocol and a second communication module for communicating with a second network using a second communication protocol, the connectivity manager 200 may The network to be used for downloading data is selected/changed based on the information collected via the modules 210 to 270 of the connectivity manager 200 . For example, the first communication module may be the cellular module 121 of FIG. 1 and may communicate with the LTE network using the LTE protocol. The second communication module may be the Wi-Fi module 122 of FIG. 1 and may communicate with the Wi-Fi network using the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 protocol. Each of the first network and the second network can be selected from various communication protocols and is not limited to the above examples. In this disclosure, a description will be provided with respect to embodiments of a cellular network and a Wi-Fi network, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

The connectivity manager 200 may determine to use a cellular network or a Wi-Fi network when downloading of data starts. While data is being downloaded, the connectivity manager 200 may actively change the network to be used for downloading to a network different from the network currently in use. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, operations performed by the connectivity manager 200 may be defined as smart CM functions.

The service provisioning controller 270 may determine whether the current environment is an environment in which the smart CM function can be used, and may activate or deactivate the smart CM function. For example, if the smart CM function is only applied to a specific service, the service provision controller 270 may determine whether the user of the mobile device 100 can use the corresponding service and may determine whether to use the smart CM function. For example, if a service provider (for example, a communication operator (or MNO) or a content provider) provides an unlimited streaming service, and if the corresponding function is activated or disabled by user settings, the service provision controller 270 may determine whether to activate or disable The corresponding function is disabled, and the smart CM function for the unlimited streaming service can be activated or disabled. If a service provider provides a specific function only to some users, the service provision controller 270 may determine whether to use the corresponding service, and may activate or deactivate the smart CM function. Corresponding information may be provided by the service provider. The service provisioning controller 270 may collect corresponding information through various methods. For example, the service provision controller 270 may receive corresponding information through communication with a service provider server, or may obtain corresponding information via interfacing with a service provider application associated with a corresponding service.

The smart CM controller 210 may analyze events obtained via the application event controller 200, and may activate or disable the smart CM function based on the analysis result. Intelligent CM controller 210 may include enhanced network selection policies and handover recovery algorithms. The smart CM controller 210 can prevent continuous handover between the Wi-Fi network and the cellular network when both are bad based on the handover recovery algorithm. A description of the enhanced network selection algorithm will be provided with reference to FIG. 3 .

The smart CM controller 210 can manage the estimated Wi-Fi network throughput obtained from the Wi-Fi module 122 and the estimated cellular network throughput obtained from the cellular module 121 . Intelligent CM controller 210 may generate and manage the desired throughput value based on the data rate in use by the currently executing application (eg, the data rate required to maintain service) obtained from processor 110 (eg, AP). The smart CM controller 210 may store the required throughput value for each application, and may determine the required throughput value to be used for the smart CM in consideration of the throughput value and the current data rate.

Additionally, the intelligent CM controller 210 may use Wi-Fi/cellular network throughput estimates to select a network to use for downloading data based on an enhanced network selection algorithm. Smart CM controller 210 may provide the selected network information to RAT controller 230 .

The application event controller 220 can monitor and collect events generated in a specified application via a framework (eg, Android framework). Here, the designated application may have the smart CM function of the application. For example, a streaming service application that provides streaming of video content such as movies or television (TV) programs may correspond to a designated application. A list of specified applications and detailed functions of the smart CM may be stored in the white list controller 250 .

The application event controller 220 may, for example, collect play events, pause events, resume events, and stop events of content being executed by an application. The application event controller 220 may collect input events of the input device 160 of FIG. 1 generated when an application is executed, such as a home key or a return key, and foreground or background execution events of the application. In addition, the application event controller 220 may collect a user identifier (UID) or process identifier (PID) and events for executing and ending applications.

When the smart CM function is activated, if Wi-Fi is in an off state based on an instruction of the smart CM controller 210, the RAT controller 230 may change Wi-Fi to an on state. The RAT controller 230 may update the network selected for the enhanced network selection algorithm via the smart CM controller 210 and may provide information on the network selected for changing the data traffic path to the routing table controller 240 . The RAT controller 230 may store Wi-Fi on/off state information when the smart CM function is disabled.

The routing table controller 240 may generate and manage a routing table for determining a routing path of data traffic of each application activated in the foreground and background. For example, the routing table controller 240 may provide information about a data service of a streaming service for which the network offloads a (additional) bill without incurring a data fee, and data about the network offloading of another service based on a tariff applied to the mobile device 100 business information. For example, if the service provider provides unlimited video streaming service to the Netflix application, if the corresponding application or service (for example, Netflix application or unlimited streaming service) is registered in the whitelist, and if the user is able to receive the corresponding service , the routing table controller 240 may define routing tables to offload data traffic for video streaming services (e.g., Unlimited Streaming Service USS) onto the cellular network and offload data traffic for other services onto Wi-Fi . In another example, a routing table may be defined to offload both data traffic for the video streaming service using the Netflix application and data traffic for other services onto Wi-Fi. The routing table may include UID values for applications (services). An example of an entry in the routing table may be represented by Table 1 below.

Table 1

Predefined Service Pack Names Service UID USS business path OS business path com.android.netflix 8890 cellular Wi-Fi

The whitelist controller 250 may generate and manage a table including predefined service applications and UID values. For example, the whitelist controller 250 may manage a whitelist such as Table 2 below.

Table 2

Predefined Service Application Android handles UIDs ESPN 1234 HBO NOW 2345 Movieplex 3456 T-mobile TV 4567 … …

Application UID (eg, Android process UID) values may be updated via application event controller 220 . The white list managed by the white list controller 250 may be predefined, but may be changed by a tariff applied to a mobile device or a policy of a service provider or a carrier, and may be updated in real time. For example, a list of 12 applications may be included in the whitelist of the mobile device where the user selects a $50 a month tariff. However, if the tariff is changed to $100 a month, 12 applications (24 applications in total) are added to the whitelist. Applications can be added or deleted based on a contract between a service provider, a communication operator (or MNO) and a content provider. Information about service addition/deletion can be updated in real time via the network. The services provided from the terminal manufacturer may be updated in real time via the terminal manufacturer's server. A network may be considered a free network if there are no tariffs or data charges associated with downloading data using the network. A network may be considered a premium network if there are tariffs or data charges associated with downloading data using the network.

Timer controller 260 may define smart CM timers. The timer controller 260 may determine the status of the application to which the smart CM function is applied. The state of the application may be defined by Table 3 below.

table 3

value state 0 front desk 1 visible 2 Appreciable 3-7 previous 8～ cached

The term "visible" in Table 3 may refer to a multi-window environment in which two applications are displayed on the display 140 of FIG. 1 , such as applications in split screens. In the case of an Android application, "perceived" may correspond to an application declared "persistent" in the AndroidManifest.xml file.

Referring to Table 3, if the state of the application does not correspond to the value '0', the timer controller 260 may start the timer. If the state of the application corresponds to a value of "8" or above (or if the application is a cached application), timer controller 260 may start the timer. If a plurality of applications to which the smart CM function is applied is executed, the timer controller 260 may start a timer if all applications are not executed in the foreground. If the application to which the smart CM function is applied is stopped to obtain memory capacity, the timer may be stopped. If the time preset by the timer expires, the smart CM function may be disabled. For example, if a user using a streaming service application changes the streaming service application to the background using a home key, a back key, etc. while watching a video, the timer is started. For example, if a timer is set for 30 seconds and 30 seconds have elapsed, the smart CM function may be disabled. However, if the streaming service application changes to the foreground before 30 seconds have elapsed, the timer can be initialized and stopped, and the smart CM function can remain active.

Figure 3 illustrates an enhanced network selection algorithm according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 3, the connectivity manager 200 (or the smart CM controller 210) of FIG. 2 may adaptively determine the first network or the second network for downloading data. The description will be provided assuming that the first network is a Wi-Fi network and the second network is a cellular network.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, the enhanced network selection algorithm may be operated by the connectivity manager 200 with network control authority. For example, if the user selects a Wi-Fi network, and the Wi-Fi communication is in a bad state, the mobile device can perform data communication using Wi-Fi. However, in a video or music streaming service, if a Wi-Fi network is used to provide the service and the Wi-Fi network environment is poor, user experience may be poor, for example, the currently playing video or music may stop repeatedly. Here, although the user chooses Wi-Fi (or other relatively cheap network) to avoid or reduce the data charge of the relative cellular network (or relatively expensive network), the enhanced network selection algorithm (or smart CM function) can be based on the user's Charge meter operation. For example, the enhanced network selection algorithm may operate when the user is using an unlimited data plan, or may operate such that no additional charges are incurred when the user is not using an unlimited data plan.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the data throughput (TP) required by the application is higher than the TP performance of the Wi-Fi network and the available cellular network provides a higher TP than the Wi-Fi network, the connectivity manager 200 may Download data via cellular network.

For example, a data TP of 2 Mbytes per second may be required to play a video currently served by an application. If the Wi-Fi TP is predicted to decrease or will decrease to 2 Mbps or less and if the Cellular TP estimate is greater than the Wi-Fi TP value, the connectivity manager 200 may switch from the Wi-Fi network to the Cellular network and download the data. Here, the Wi-Fi TP may correspond to the current Wi-Fi TP and the Cellular TP may correspond to an estimated value, since the current state is not the state in which the mobile device is connected to the cellular network (eg, Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected state). However, mobile devices can access cellular networks and can measure data TP directly.

If several applications use the data service at the same time, the connectivity manager 200 (or the communication circuit 120 of FIG. 1 ) can measure the data TP of each application, and can operate on the specified application based on the data TP of the application to which the smart CM function is applied. network selection algorithm.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the connectivity management The device 200 can download data via a Wi-Fi network.

In a state of downloading data using a cellular network, the connectivity manager 200 may continuously monitor Wi-Fi TP from the Wi-Fi module 122 . A mobile device can access a Wi-Fi access point (AP) and measure TP directly. If it is determined that the Wi-FiTP is higher than the desired TP by a constant value α or more, the connectivity manager 200 may switch to data download over the Wi-Fi network. In other words, although the communication status of the cellular network is good, the connectivity manager 200 may switch the connection to Wi-Fi. Therefore, the user's charges (or data limits) can be reduced. If a user has unlimited data, he or she is not affected. However, the amount of traffic that congests the cellular network can be reduced by switching to Wi-Fi operation, thus allowing many users to receive seamless service.

The constant value α can be determined based on a handover recovery algorithm. If there is an extremely low probability that an undesired network handover will occur or if the Wi-Fi TP is greater than the required TP when no handover recovery algorithm is applied, the connectivity manager 200 may handover the connection from the cellular network to the Wi-Fi network. The constant value α may be set to a value determined by the quality of service. For example, if a user has unlimited data service over a cellular network and if the quality of service from the cellular network is substantially the same as from the Wi-Fi network, there is no benefit to the user if the connection switches to the Wi-Fi network. Higher resolutions (e.g., 720 pixels or 1280 pixels) for video services may be possible if higher quality of service is received over a Wi-Fi network, compared to a lower resolution cellular network that may limit video quality to 480 pixels Available via Wi-Fi network. A constant value of α can determine the TP required for high-resolution video services.

In addition to the above conditions, although the Wi-Fi TP is lower than the minimum data TP (or required TP) required to provide the service, if the TP of the Wi-Fi network is higher than the TP of the cellular network, the connectivity manager 200 can set The connection switches from a cellular network to a Wi-Fi network.

Hereinafter, a description of operations performed in a mobile device based on the enhanced network selection algorithm is provided with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 .

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of switching a connection from a Wi-Fi network to a cellular network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 4, in operation 401, a mobile device performs data communication using a Wi-Fi network. For example, a mobile device may use the Wi-Fi module 122 to receive data from a server via a Wi-Fi network.

In operation 403, the mobile device determines whether the data throughput of the current Wi-Fi network is insufficient compared to the data throughput required to receive the data. If the data throughput of the Wi-Fi network is sufficient, the mobile device can continue to receive data using the Wi-Fi network.

If it is determined that the data throughput of the Wi-Fi network is insufficient, in operation 405, the mobile device determines whether the communication status of the cellular network is better than that of the Wi-Fi network. If the communication status of the cellular network is not better than that of the Wi-Fi network, the mobile device continues to use the Wi-Fi network to receive data.

If the communication status of the cellular network is better than that of the Wi-Fi network, the mobile device changes a network for receiving data to the cellular network in operation 407 .

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of switching a connection from a cellular network to a Wi-Fi network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 5, in operation 501, a mobile device performs data communication using a cellular network. For example, the mobile device 100 can use the cellular module 121 to receive data from a server via a cellular network.

In operation 503, the mobile device determines whether the data throughput of the Wi-Fi network satisfies the data throughput required to receive data. If the Wi-Fi network satisfies the data throughput required to receive the data, in operation 507, the mobile device may receive data using the Wi-Fi network.

If the data throughput of the Wi-Fi network does not satisfy the data throughput required to receive data, in operation 505, the mobile device determines whether the communication status of the Wi-Fi network is better than that of the cellular network. If the communication status of the Wi-Fi network is better than that of the cellular network, in operation 507, the mobile device receives data using the Wi-Fi network. If the communication status of the cellular network is not better than the communication status of the cellular network, the mobile device may continue to receive data via the cellular network.

In the description with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5 , the Wi-Fi network and the cellular network may correspond to the first network and the second network. Alternatively, Wi-Fi networks and cellular networks may correspond to cheap and expensive networks, free and paid networks, and so on.

Hereinafter, a description will be provided of the operation of the mobile device to which the smart CM function is applied with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9 .

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating intelligent CM processing according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 6, in operation 601, a processor executes an application. Multiple applications may be stored in the memory 130 . If a specified application (for example, a streaming service application) among a plurality of applications is executed, smart CM processing may be applied. For example, if browsing or executing a content download application (or service), a routing path to a Wi-Fi network may be established. In the case of a voice call, a routing path to the cellular network may be established for the stability of the voice call. For example, an application corresponding to the whitelist managed by the whitelist controller 250 among a plurality of applications may be applied to the smart CM function, but other applications may be set by a user, or may use only a network required by the application. Hereinafter, assuming that an application to which the smart CM function is applied is executed, a description will be provided of the process described in the flowchart of FIG. 6 .

In FIG. 6 , operations starting with operation 603 may correspond to operations according to activation of the smart CM function. The smart CM function may be activated, for example, when a condition under which the smart CM function can operate is satisfied. For example, the Smart CM functionality can be activated by conditions such as the user's tariff (or whether the user is charged) and whether a predefined service is activated. The smart CM functionality may be activated upon execution of the application of operation 601 (ie, in response to execution of a predefined application). As another example, after an application is executed, the smart CM function may be activated at a time when playback of content (eg, movies, music, television (TV) programs, etc.) starts. As another example, after the application is executed and the content is played, the smart CM function can be activated at the time when the data traffic of the content substantially occurs (for example, when the streaming server is requested to send the content to be played and the data download is started from the streaming server) . The description will be provided assuming that the smart CM function is performed once the application is executed. In other words, the processor may perform operation 603 upon recognizing that operation 601 is performed.

In operation 603, the processor performs an initial process. The initial process may correspond to a process of determining whether to start downloading data using any network. For example, if operations 601 and 603 are performed in a state where the user manually sets a Wi-Fi network, and if it is determined that sufficient bandwidth is not obtained via Wi-Fi as a result of performing operations 601 and 603, the processor may determine to start Network download data. A description of the detailed procedure of the initial procedure will be provided with reference to FIG. 7 .

In operation 605, the processor determines a data path based on a result of performing the initial process. For example, the processor may determine to download data using the Wi-Fi network if the Wi-Fi network meets the throughput required to provide the service as a result of performing the initial process. If the Wi-Fi network does not meet the throughput required to provide the service as a result of performing the initial process, and if the cellular network service is relatively good, the processor may determine to download the data using the cellular network. Additionally, the processor may determine a network for downloading the data based on a tariff applied to the mobile device. For example, where a user subscribes for $100 a month to a meter that has no limit on data usage and can be used for a specific streaming service, where he or she subscribes for a meter that has limited data usage to 10GB and can be used for a specific streaming service for $70 a month, and his or her In each of the cases in which her subscription is unavailable for a particular streaming service, the data traffic path may be determined differently by the processor.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, it is considered that the charge meter may be executed when the application is executed or before the application is executed. For example, applications added to the whitelist may be set differently based on the tariff. Also, the setting values of the applications added to the white list may be determined in different ways based on the tariff. For example, a streaming service application may be configured to provide relatively high image quality (eg, 720 pixels or high-resolution (HD) image quality) content if an unlimited data tariff is used. Streaming service applications may be configured to provide relatively low image quality (eg, 480 pixels) content if a typical tariff for data is used (where data usage is limited to 10GB). The minimum data throughput required for content service may vary on a case-by-case basis. Thus, while each network status is determined based on the execution of the initial procedure, the selected data path may be changed based on the tariff to which the user subscribes.

In operation 607, the processor allows the communication circuit to download data (eg, video data, subtitle files, etc.) associated with the streaming service application using the selected network.

When downloading data, the processor may execute network CM. In other words, operation 609 may be performed continuously or periodically while operation 607 is performed, rather than after operation 607 is completed. The network CM may include network state monitoring for a connected first network (for example, Wi-Fi) and a non-connected second network (for example, cellular), and perform an operation of performing an application state according to network connection changes and determinations of the monitoring results . In this regard, description will be specifically provided with reference to FIG. 8 .

If the end condition is satisfied, in operation 611, the processor ends the smart CM function. For example, the processor may determine that the end condition of the smart CM function is satisfied if the playback of the content has ended, if the application has ended, or if an event such as the expiration of a timer after the application has been changed to the background. In this case, the processor may end the smart CM function. In other words, the processor can turn off the network monitoring function and the network selection function. Also, in operation 611, if the end condition is satisfied, the processor may end the smart CM function. For example, the end condition may correspond to whether there is a change in providing the corresponding service due to a change in the user's charging table or whether the policy of the communication operator (or MNO) or service provider has changed, or the user manually disables the smart CM function.

If the smart CM function has ended, the mobile device can restore the network settings to the state before the smart CM function was activated. For example, if the mobile device is connected to a Wi-Fi network before activating the smart CM function (for example, before executing a streaming application), although the mobile device is connected to a cellular network and plays content, if the smart CM function has ended (for example, if the content playback ends), the mobile device can restore the connection to the Wi-Fi network, and vice versa.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an initial process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The initial procedure shown in FIG. 7 may be an example for selecting a preferred radio resource among radio resources currently available to the mobile device. In FIG. 7 , the description will be provided assuming that Wi-Fi is used as the first network and cellular is used as the second network (or vice versa) and that the mobile device supports the intelligent network selection function and the download accelerator function.

Operation 701 may be performed after operation 601, that is, after executing a predefined application. For example, an application event controller may verify that events occur based on the execution of an application. If an event corresponding to a specified service is generated, the application event controller may start operation 701 .

In operation 701, the processor activates the Wi-Fi module. If the Wi-Fi module has already been activated, operation 701 may be omitted. After performing operation 701, the processor may scan for access points (APs).

In operation 703, the processor activates the cellular module. If the cellular module has already been activated, operation 703 may be omitted. After performing operation 703, the processor may scan the network.

In operation 705, the processor disables the intelligent network selection function. Here, the smart network selection function may correspond to automatically activating the cellular network and disabling the Wi-Fi network (or vice versa) if the Wi-Fi signal decreases to a threshold or less although the user manually activates the Wi-Fi network function. If the function has been disabled or in the case of a terminal that does not support the function, operation 705 may be omitted.

In operation 707, the processor disables the download accelerator function. If the download accelerator function is activated, for example, the mobile device can activate all diversity antennas while increasing battery consumption, thereby optimizing download performance. However, since a value different from an actual network state may be measured if the download accelerator function is activated when estimating the network state in operation 709 , the processor may disable the download accelerator function. If there is no download accelerator function or if the download accelerator function has been disabled, operation 707 may be omitted.

In operation 709, the processor estimates a network state using the Wi-Fi module and the cellular module. For example, the processor may download dummy data via the Wi-Fi network or may measure or estimate the data throughput in each network by the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) values of the antennas. For example, the processor may determine an estimated throughput when using a Wi-Fi network and an estimated throughput when using a cellular network. Results of the estimation may be used to determine an initial data path in operation 605 .

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the process described in the flowchart of FIG. 7 may be completed before starting the download of the content. However, if scanning the network takes a long time in a weak network area, the process of FIG. 7 may not be completed before starting the content download. In the former case, the processor may receive the content through the initial data path determined by the process of FIG. 7 . In the latter case, the processor can receive the content by using the data path set before the process of FIG. 7 as the initial data path. For example, although both the Wi-Fi and cellular modules are turned on to perform the process of FIG. 7 in the state of Wi-Fi on and cellular off, if the execution of operation 709 is not completed before starting the content download, the mobile device can start to pass the Wi-Fi. -Fi network download data. In this case, after starting the download, the mobile device may change a network receiving data based on a result of performing operation 709 or may immediately enter the process of FIG. 8 .

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating network CM processing according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The network CM of FIG. 8 is performed after performing an operation of determining an initial data path (operation 605). As described above, an initial data path may be established by operation 709 and may be established prior to completion of the process of FIG. 7 . The process of FIG. 8 may be continuously performed when downloading content.

In operation 801, the processor determines whether an initial path for data download is a Wi-Fi network or a cellular network.

The processor starts operation 803 based on the result determined in operation 801 . Operation 803 may correspond to the operation of repeatedly performing processing shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 . For example, if the initial path is a Wi-Fi network, the processor may perform operation 401 in the process shown in FIG. 4 . The processor may continue to download data using Wi-Fi in operation 401 based on the process of FIG. 4 , or may change a network for downloading data through operations 403 and 405 to a cellular network in operation 407 .

If a network for downloading data is changed from a cellular network or if an initial data path is a cellular network, the processor may perform operation 501 in the process shown in FIG. 5 . The processor may continue to download data using the cellular network based on the process of FIG. 5 , or may change the network to download data from the Wi-Fi network in operation 507 through operations 503 and 505 .

The loop process of operation 803 may be continuously performed until an end condition described below occurs.

In operation 805, the processor determines whether playing of content using the application has ended or whether the application has ended. If the playing or application of the content has ended, the processor ends the smart CM function in operation 611 .

In operation 807, the processor determines whether the application changes from the foreground state to the background state, for example, because the user's input of the home key or the back button occurs. If the application has changed to a background state, in operation 809, the processor may change the smart CM function to an idle mode. The processor can define the smart CM function as entering the idle mode based on one or a combination of the situation that the application has changed to the background state, the situation that the application has changed the foreground position without ending the situation, and the situation that no streaming data service has occurred. The idle mode of the Smart CM function can be defined as the processor stops the data flow and starts the timer. For example, a timer can be started by a timer controller of the connectivity manager.

In operation 811, the processor determines whether the application has changed to the foreground state. The processor may determine whether to release a condition corresponding to the idle mode of the smart CM function. Since the data download has started or will start again if the application changes to the foreground state, the processor may release the idle mode of the smart CM function and perform operation 803 .

In operation 813 , if a predefined timer expires in a state where the smart CM function enters an idle mode, the processor may end the smart CM function in operation 611 .

FIG. 9 illustrates a user interface (UI) for setting a smart CM according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 9, a setting screen 910 is displayed on the display. If the smart CM item 911 is selected by the user, the display provides a check box 921 to select whether to use the smart CM function. In FIG. 9 , a check box 921 for using Smart CM with respect to an unlimited streaming service may be provided, but various items may be additionally provided based on a user's tariff. For example, a data limit of 10GB can be allocated to users every month. can be provided in both directions (for example, Wi-Fi Cellular) until data usage reaches a certain limit (e.g., 70%) and only in a single direction (e.g., Cellular→Wi -Fi) projects applying smart CM. In addition, an item may be provided that the smart CM will be applied only to unlimited streaming services or other applications (eg, Internet applications, game applications, etc.).

If the check box 921 is selected, the display may display a guide message screen 930 . For example, a message 931 including a description and an on/off button for the selected item may be provided.

The screen shown in FIG. 9 is an example, and various guide screens may be provided based on implementation.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a popup message may be provided instead of a separate setting menu, or in addition to a separate menu. For example, if an application to which the smart CM function is applied (eg, an application registered with a white list) is executed, the processor may display an appropriate popup message on the display 140 . For example, a message indicating that a Wi-Fi network and a cellular network can be adaptively used based on a communication environment may be displayed when downloading content provided by an application. The message may include a menu for approving or rejecting the application of the smart CM function. The pop-up message may include information about the tariff the user is currently subscribed to and information about the remaining data usage limit.

FIG. 10 illustrates a UI for selecting a smart CM according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 10 , if the smart CM function is activated, both an icon indicating a network used by a service to which the smart CM function is applied and an icon indicating a network used by another service may be displayed on an area 1010 of the notification bar. In this case, an icon indicating the signal strength of each network may be displayed.

If the smart CM function is applied to the unlimited streaming service (USS) but not to other services, the icon indicating the network to which the smart CM function is applied may be displayed differently from the icon indicating the network to which the smart CM function is not applied. Icon 1011 may be displayed on area 1010 if both USS and other services use a cellular network (eg, LTE). Icon 1012 may be displayed on area 1010 if the USS is using cellular and other services are using Wi-Fi. An icon 1013 may be displayed on the area 1010 if the USS uses a Wi-Fi network and other services use a cellular network. Icon 1014 may be displayed on area 1010 if both USS and other services use the Wi-Fi network.

According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, at least a part of an apparatus (for example, a module or function) or at least a part of a method (for example, an operation) can be implemented, for example, by program instructions stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. When the program instructions are executed by one or more processors (eg, the processors of FIG. 1 ), the one or more processors may perform the functions corresponding to the program instructions. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium may be, for example, the memory 130 of FIG. 1 .

In addition, program instructions may include not only machine codes compiled by a compiler but also high-level language codes that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The aforementioned hardware devices may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform operations according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, and vice versa.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a mobile device can maintain optimal performance based on a network state when a user consumes content.

Additionally, a user can consume content based on his or her subscribed tariff, and the communication operator or MNO can manage congested data traffic on the network.

While the present disclosure has been shown and described with reference to various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the present disclosure as defined in the appended claims and their equivalents. spirit and scope.

Claims (14)

1. A mobile device comprising: a memory configured to store a plurality of applications; communication circuitry including a first communication module connected to a first network using a first communication protocol and a second communication module connected to a second network using a second communication protocol; and a processor electrically connected to the communication circuit, Wherein, the processor is configured as: Executing a streaming service application among multiple applications, selecting one of the first network and the second network based on a communication status of the first network, a communication status of the second network, and a tariff applied to the mobile device, and Content associated with the streaming service application is downloaded from the streaming server using the selected network. 2. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: determining whether the communication state of the selected network meets the data throughput required for downloading the content, and When the communication state of the selected network does not satisfy the required data throughput, the content is downloaded from the streaming server via a network different from the selected network based on the communication state of the first network and the communication state of the second network. 3. The mobile device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to: When a voice call application among the plurality of applications is executed, data corresponding to the voice call application is received via a predefined network among the first network and the second network. 4. The mobile device of claim 1 , wherein the memory stores a list of one or more applications, and Wherein, the processor is further configured as: Data corresponding to applications not included in the list is received via a predefined network among the first network and the second network. 5. The mobile device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to: When the streaming service application is executed, the communication status of the first network and the communication status of the second network are monitored. 6. The mobile device of claim 5, wherein the processor is further configured to: When the streaming service application has ended, the monitoring of the communication status of the first network and the communication status of the second network is stopped. 7. The mobile device of claim 5, wherein the processor is further configured to: start the timer when the streaming service application is executed in the background state, and The timer ends when the streaming app is executed in the foreground state. 8. The mobile device of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to: Stop monitoring when the time specified by the timer has elapsed. 9. The mobile device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to: When the streaming service application is executed, a message indicating that the first network and the second network are adaptively used for downloading content is displayed on the display. 10. A method for managing a network connection of a mobile device, the method comprising: execute the streaming service application; selecting one of the first network and the second network based on a communication status of the first network, a communication status of the second network, and a tariff applied to the mobile device; and Content associated with the streaming service application is downloaded from the streaming server using the selected network. 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising: When the selected network is a free network, the content is downloaded via the paid network based on the data throughput of the free network, the data throughput required to play the downloaded content, and the data throughput of the paid network. 12. The method of claim 10, further comprising: When the selected network is a paid network, the content is downloaded via the free network if the free network meets the data throughput required to play the content. 13. The method of claim 10, further comprising: start the timer when the streaming service application is executed in the background state; and The timer ends when the streaming app is executed in the foreground state. 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: When the timer expires, the network settings are restored to the state before the execution of the streaming service application.